Concrete-block machine



April 1, 1930. c. DEETRICHS CONCRE'LE BLOCK MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6. 1922 avwe'nboz April 1, 1930. c. DI ETRICHS CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet ,2

Filed June 6. r 1922 April 1, 1930.

C. DIETRICHS CONCRETE BLOCK MACHINE Filed June 6. 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Apr. 1, 1930 UNITED STATES CHARLES DIETRICHS, OF LITTLE FERRY,

PATENT NEW JERSEY, Assrerion, BY MESNE AS- SIGNMENTS, TO WALKER' CEMENT PRODUCTS, INOJ, OF UNION CITY, NEWV JERSEY,

, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ooNcEETE-BEooK MACHINE Application filed June 1922. Serial. No. 568,390.

mixed concrete to the molds at a definite rate, 'dependlng upon the rate at which the molds are conveyed through the machine. It is also necessary to thoroughly tamp the concrete into the molds to insure the production of solid blocks free from air pockets. To produce finished blocks it is also necessary to provide a scraping device for removing the ex- .cess concrete from the tops of the molds.

f Accordingly, the invention comprises improved means for proportioning, mixing and conveying concrete, whereby a continuous supply of properly mixed concrete is. delivered tothe molds at a definite rate.

The invention also comprises improved molds, and means for conveying these molds through the machine.

The invention also comprises improved means fortamping the. concrete into the molds as they are conveyed thru the machine, and improved means for scraping the tops of the molds.

The several elements of the invention are interconnected in such a manner that they all cooperate to produce concrete blocks of superior quality. It is merely necessary to supply empty molds and concrete ingredients tothe machine and to supply power to a single driv ing shaIt. Y 1 f The various features of the invention will be made clear by the following description which is to be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing whichshows one embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood that the apparatus may be varied in many ways, and that some of theelements described and illustrated may be replaced by equivalents, or omitted'entirely, and, therefore, the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment shown and described, but is intended to include such like devices in the several combinations set forth, as'fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Fig; 1 is a side elevationof the improved machine;

ug 2 f top plan view of the machine shown in Flg. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33' of Fig. 1 showing the mixing apparatus and the device for supplying concrete ingredients to the mixing chamber; i

Fig. l is a transverse section taken on line 4-4: of 1, showing the scraping device; Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on line 5-5 of the Fig.1, showing the concrete conveying device which conveys the mixed concrete from the mixing chamber to the molds; Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 66 of Fig. 1, showing the driving shaft and the gears for driving the mixing apparatus V Fig. 7 is a sectional view'taken online 7-7 of Fig. 8, showing the tamping device;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view showing the tamping device and a mold filled withconcrete passing under this tamping device;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the mold ready to be passed through the machine;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the inverted mold showing the details'of construction, and Fig. 11 is a perspective'view of the mold after it has been removed from the finished block.

Referring to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the device for supplying concrete ingredients to the mixing apparatus comprisesa hopper 1, supported by a suitable frame 1. This hopper 1 is divided into several compartments by partitions 2. If the blocks are to be made of cement and fine and coarse aggregate, three compartments may be provided in the hopper l and the separate ingredients placed in the several compartments. Slides are provided at the bottom of the hopper 1 in each compartment.

By adjusting these slides the flow of material may be regulated to produce the desired mixture.

At the bottom of the hopper 1 there is a FFHQE paratus. As the shaft 3 rotates the blades f hopper 1., This device 8 comprises a shaft 9 and a plurality of members 10 mounted thereon. Each of these members 10 comprises a hub and a plurality of spokes projecting therefrom. The shaft 9 may be connected to the shaft 3 by any suitable means, as by a chain 9. The purpose of this agitating device 8 is to prevent the cement an gg from. wedgin-g against the walls of the hopper 1 and arching over the blades 4, thus interrupting the supply of material to'the mixing chamber.

Themixing apparatus comprising a long trough or container 11 closed at one end and 0- ening. into a conveyorcpit 12 at the other. 'Ilhis trough 11 is preferably provided with a curved bottom.-v The shaft 15 passes lengthwise through the trough 11, this shaft being journaled in the closed end of the trough 11, and in the conveyor casing 24. A plurality of arms16 are mounted on the shaft 15, each of these arms being provided with a plate 17, disposed at an angleto the axis of the mixing chamber 6, so that when the shaft 15 is rotated,, the mixtureof'cement and aggregate is gradually moved toward the conveyor pit 12. Water is supplied to the. mixing chamber 6 throughthe perforated pipe 13, the flow being regulated. by means of the valve 13. As shownin Fig.1, the perforated section of the pipe 13 is at considerable distance from the closedv end ofthe trough 11.. It is thus, ap parent that the concrete ingredients supplied from the hopper 1 are mixed dry until they'pass under thisperforated section of the pipe 13. A bevel gear 18 is mounted on the end. of the shaft 15. This gear is driven by a bevel pinion" 19 (see ig. 6) which in turn; is driven by means of a suitable gear train. which receivespower from the main driving shaft 21'. A second bevel pinion 19 is also-used,.thispinion serves as an idler to absorb part of. the thrust onthe bevel gear 18. Power is supplied to the driving shaft 21by pulley 22and belt 23. The power may be derived from any suitable source, such as an internal combustion engine. I 7 When the shaft 15 is rotated the shafts 3 and. 9 the hopper 1- arecaused to rotate by virtuejof. the chains 5 and 9. A supply of material from the hopper is therefore delivered to the mixing chamber where-the ccment and aggregate are thoroughly mixed and: the mixture gradually moved toward the conveyor pit'12.

The concrete conveyor apparatus, shownc sprocket wheels 28 mounted at the top of the casing .24. l Vhen the concrete is carried in the buckets 27 to the top of the conveyor casing, it falls into the molds 29. 1 Guides 30, attached the frame of the casing 24, prevent any of the concrete from falling past the molds.

The camping device is mounted within the casing. 31 in the top of which a shaft 32 is journaled. The tamper comprises a shaft 33 which carries a head 34-(see Figs? and 8) The tamper shaft 33 is eccentrically mounted on the shaft 32 which is supported by the casing 31. Accordingly, when the shaft 32 rotates, the tamper shaft 33 and the head 34, oscillate up and down. vAs shown in Fig. 8,

the head 34 is constrained by the guides 35 a and 36, to move in a. vertical plane only. The face of the tamperhead. 34 .is inclined at an angle to the horizontal. V V

T have found that by using ahead having a face inclined to the horizontal, concrete blocks of superior quality can be produced, the tamping being more thoroughly executed than when a head having a horizontal face is used. As shown in Fig. 8, the molds pass under the tamping device in the direction indicated by the arrow. The forward guide 35 is so situated that it permits anexcess amount of concrete to pass by this guide.

I have found that the head 34 tamps the concrete between the mold divisions much more I effectively than does the ordinary tainping head. The action of the tamping head 34 is to pack theconcrete into the mold, and at the same time to gradually move the excess material towardthe leading guide 35. The rear guide 36 projects down further than does the guide 35 and thus prevents the major portion of the excess concrete from passing beyond the tamping device. v

The device for conveying the molds through the machine comprises an endless chain 37 carriediby the sprocket wheels 38 and 39. This chain 37 is driven by the sprocket wheel 39 which is mounted on a shaft 40 which in turn is driven by the large sprocket wheel 4'1.' The sprocket wheel 38 is mounted on a shaft 42 which is mounted on a frame 43. The frame 43' comprises two guides each consisting of two upright metal plates 44 and 45. (See Figs. 5 and 6'). These guides serve as a table or a bench upon which the molds 29 are placed, the molds being moved along the bench by lugs on the bottom thereof which engage the links of the endless hain 37 The filled molds are removed from the frame 43 at the end of the machine adj acent the hopper 1. The endless chain 37 is held taut by an idler 46 which is loosely mounted on the driving shaft 21. A plate 45 is provided on bench 43 for the purpose of supporting the conveyor chain 37 in a horizontal position.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 4 it will be noted that a sprocket wheel is fixed to the main driving shaft 21. This wheel drives the sprocket wheel 47 fixed to the shaft 32 which is journaled in the casing 31. The shaft 32 operates the tamper shaft 33 which is eccentrically mounted thereon and also drives, through a suitable speed reduction system, the shaft 40, which in turn drivesthe mold conveyor chain 37.

A clutch 70 is provided on the shaft 71, which forms a part of the speed reduction system mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The sprocket wheel 72 is loosely mounted on the end of the shaft 71 and is adapted to be engaged by. the clutch 7 0. When the clutch 7 O engages the sprocket wheel 72, power is supplied to the shaft 40 which drives the conveyor chain 37.

In practice it has been found very desirable to vprovide a clutch 70, as shown in Fig. 4. By this means the mold conveyor may be stopped Without stopping the remainder of the machine. If for any reason the supply of concrete should fail, the clutch 70 may be disengaged from the sprocket wheel 72, thus stopping the mold conveyor until the proper amount of concrete is delivered to the molds by the concrete conveyor. v

It will be noted that the shaft 32 is mechanically connected to a shaft 48 which carries a bevel gear meshing with a similar gear on a shaft 49. As shown in Fig. 4 the shaft 49 carries two sprocket wheels which drive two endless chains 50. These chains 50 are held taut by two sprocket wheels 51 mounted on the casing 31 on the side opposite the shaft 49. The chains 50 are so situated that they pass across the top surface of the molds 29. Scraping members 52 are attached to the chains 50 so that the excess concrete left on the molds when they leave the tamping device is scraped from the molds and falls into the mixing chamber 6. Guides 53 are provided for the purpose of preventing the excess concrete thusscraped from the molds from falling past the mixing chamber 6. As shown in Fig. 4, guides'54 may be provided so that the scraping members'52 will not strike abruptly against the sides of the molds 29.

. From the above description it will be noted that all parts of the machine cooperate to produce finished blocks. The arrangement is such that concrete is not wasted in any part of the operation. The molds are filled direct ly above the mixing chamber, and the tamping andscraping also take place above this chamber. By this arrangement, the concrete whichfalls from the molds passesdirectly into the mixing chamber and is automatically'returned tothe molds by the. concreteconveyor. a

' The improved ing and sheet metal parts arein very-common use. None of the'parts require-careful machining and the machinemaybe constructed in a very simple manner. Furthermore, the improved machine .isvery compact due to the arrangement of conveying-filling, tamping and scrapinglmechanisms above the mixing chamber. By virtue of this compact arrangement, the machine may be transported easily, and it is very easy to operate. 1

' The improved mold which I prefer to ruse in conjunction with. the above described ap paratus is shown'in Figs. 9-11, inclusive. The mold comprises a rectangular. frame or flask 60, having a loose bottom 61, this loose bottom carries one or more cores 62 0f; ordinary construction, these cores being fixed to the bot tom 61 in any suitable manner.

A lug 63 is provided on the bottom surface of the flask bottom 61. When the mold is placed on the bench 43, this lug 63 is engaged by a link of the moving chain 37 and thus the mold is conveyed along the bench.

A hinged handle 64 is provided on each of two opposite sides of the flask bottom 61.

machine is notexpensive to 'make, for thechains,sprocketwheels, shaft- These handles 64 are arranged so that when they are in a horizontal position they clamp the flask bottom 61 in position against the lugs 65 and plates 66 provided on the lower edge of the frame 60. When the handles 64 are in a vertical position the bottom 61 is free to move within the frame 60.

The mold is placed on the bench 43 with the handles 64 horizontal. As shown in Figs. 4 to 7, the upright members 44 and 45 forming the bench 43, are arranged so that the handles 64 are held in this horizontal position.

Vhen the filled mold is taken from the machine, it is inverted as shown in Fig. 10. The handles 64 are then raised to a vertical position and the frame 60 is lifted from the block by applying a force between the handles 64 and the plates 66 which project out from the sides of the frame 60, as well as in-' wardly as noted above. By thus bringingthe handles 64 and the plates 66 close together, the frame 60 is withdrawn from the block. The frame bottom 61 may then be lifted away from the block as shown in Fig. 11.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a concrete mixing device, means for conveying molds through the machine over said mixing device, means for con- Ell 0 veying the concrete to the molds above said I mixing device, means arranged above said mixing device for tamping the concrete in the molds, and means for scraping the excess gamma mold's andi'returning' it to saidimixing device. v V

2.. I'm a machine of the typedescribed, a mold conveyor for carrying molds through the machine and a: tamping device. comprising: a shaft adapted to oscillate: in a' vertical p1ane, a; tampenheazd fixed: to saint shaft, the face) of said head; being'inclined zit-am angle to the horizontal, andguides for saidtamper head, said guides being." arranged to scrape part; of the excess: concrete: from the top of the molds;

In. a m-a'chineof the type described,: a 1

mold; conveyor for carrying molds; through the. machine, and a tamping device comprising a: shaft adapted to oscillate in a vertical plane, a tamper-head fixe to saidzsh aft; and guidies for'said' tamper head, said guides and head being. arranged to scrape part of flu? excess concrete from the; tops-f of the .mahis:

Iii-testimony whereof I. aifix my signature.

CHARLES- DIETRIGHS. 

